Another step on the path to a greener fairer Manchester last night, this time at Madlab, on Edge St. Around twenty people mingled, brainstormed, scribbled ideas and comments on flipcharts and briefly quizzed two members of the team co-ordinating the “Beyond Growth” report, which will be released in late October.
The main goals of the evening were to gather thoughts and answer questions, and to introduce people to the exciting space that is Madlab.
Lots of new links were made between participants, and pages and pages of flipchart were filled (these have all been typed up and will appear on t’website imminently.
There were also lots of useful detailed conversations, that are shaping the questions we ask. One thing is the need to look at indebtedness as part of the complex set of issues. We also need to engage with small enterprises since they tend to be more compatible with steady state…
What happens next
Over the next two weeks a gazillion emails get sent out to roughly a gazillion people asking them to fill in surveys, start being involved in a team of people, start writing, researching and in other ways doing things. Each of these requests will be specific, and if people are too busy, we will ask them if they are up for doing a sub-section of that project. We know how snowed under everyone is, and we do not want anyone taking on more work than they want to do, than they can manage.
If you don’t get an email, it’s not a snub, it’s just we maybe don’t know who you are… get in touch! steadystatemanchester@gmail.com
We will start publishing weekly updates about what has been achieved, what gaps exist and how people can get involved.
Thanks
To everyone who came out on a wet Manchester summer night (the adjective is redundant?!) and shared their ideas and enthusiasm
To Natalie at Madlab for being so helpful and skilled
To the people who tweeted/sent their apologies
Tips from facebook and the twitter feed (#greenmcr)
“Surround yourself with people who want to change and be open to constructive criticism.”
Switch of all floodlighting of buildings, burns energy unnecessarily. #greenmcr
—
Patrick Sudlow (@Soapysudsuk) July 19, 2012We need to prioritise the things that we really value – family, friendship, good jobs, health etc. #greenmcr—
Sustainable Change (@Sust_Change) July 19, 2012
#greenmcr Ideas, don't know. With @SocialistGreen am converting a small patch of railway land into a vegetable garden.—
George Czernuszka (@ChorltonGreen) July 19, 2012
The @UnicornGrocery Grow a Grocery Guide uk.coop/node/9209 is trying to make that happen
#coops @lowwintersun @stevieflow #greenmcr—
Paul Dale Smith (@pdalesmith) July 19, 2012
Stop treating our future problems as taboo topics in conversation. It's not the apocalypse, it's just a challenge #greenmcr—
Laurence Adams (@MouthOfLaurence) July 19, 2012
“@TAG_Manchester: Ban cars every Sunday to make way for bicycles:… fb.me/1DajSQ5w5” … #greenmcr—
MCR Greens (@MCR_Greens) July 19, 2012
More fresh local fruit & veg like grub.mcc-hub.org please! #greenmcr—
Steven Flower (@stevieflow) July 19, 2012
We need to increase the production & consumption of local food & create a fair & sustainable supply chain #greenmcr—
Veg People (@MancVegPeople) July 19, 2012
#greenmcr – set up a high street #coop development shop where anyone could drop in for advice on setting up a new co-operative business—
Jnthn @ lowwintersun (@lowwintersun) July 19, 2012
tips for a greener M'cr? Get on yr bike! Leave the car behind! More cyclists are better for a greener Now AND a greener tomorrow. #greenmcr—
Ruth Rosselson (@RuthRosselson) July 19, 2012
@mcr_climate Buy local, grow your own and cut down on meat consumption. That's three! Hope discussion flows tonight. #greenmcr—
Feeding Manchester (@FeedingMcr) July 19, 2012
Instant Postmortem
What went well
People came and mingled!
What could have gone better
More people
More activity on the twitter feed (but the quality was really high, so thanks to those who did!!)
What would we do differently
Specific invites to a lot more people
Start plugging the twitter feed idea earlier
What we will start doing now
Specific invites to individuals to get involved on specific projects in the next two weeks.
